A Blue Wave Means New Challenges and Opportunities

How This Majority Will Actually Behave

Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats (Alaska is still counting) and a sizeable House majority, but President Trump retains veto power, and the filibuster remains intact.

House Democrats have promised a 100-day agenda that starts with lowering the cost of gas, groceries, and other goods, reversing cuts to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, and launching aggressive oversight.

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries has described three tranches: the first 100 hours, the first 100 days, then the first year—while trying to temper voters’ expectations for retribution against Trump, his family and allies in a Morning Joe appearance this morning. Senator Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Majority Leader, blamed rising costs of electricity, health care, and consumer goods on Trump’s policies. 

There is no doubt leadership will attempt to steer members toward these issues. A late-September poll from Echelon Insights found that the economy and cost of living topped voter concerns at 42%, with Iran coming in second at 15%. “I can’t afford to live” was their takeaway, as well as frustration over the “on again/off again situation with tariffs.”

The launch of aggressive tariffs in April, the so-called Liberation Day, is where President Trump and Republicans went underwater on approval, and only saw upticks when tariffs were delayed. 

Areas where lawmakers are likely to take action beginning January 2027:

1. Data and Drugs. Data center cost allocation, kids’ chatbot safety, official trading bans on prediction markets focused on lawmakers and government employees, and drug price caps that echo Trump’s most-favored-nation (MFN) deals. 
2. There will be riders. Trump will need to sign spending bills, which makes riders and omnibus bills the most realistic ways to constrain the CFTC, negotiate on AI preemption enforcement, and challenge specific tariffs.
3. Oversight uptick. Expect subpoenas targeting AI and tech firms, prediction market companies, and Trump family crypto operations, as well as Senate control over nominees, including any CFTC commissioners. Chairman Mike Selig has been very visible on the issue of prediction markets and federal preemption, and it’s not clear President Trump is passionate about defending the proliferation of event contracts. 
4. Dividing Republicans. Tariffs, data center moratoriums and prediction market regulation will split Republicans in this environment. Entering a lame-duck period, you might see Senate Democrats court once-reluctant Republicans to join them on bills and veto overrides.

1. AI, social media and data centers

Tuesday was not great for data centers at the local level. Ballotpedia posted 41 measures in 10 states on the November 3 ballot—a “yes” on 28 of them would limit data center projects and a “yes” on the other 13 aimed to ease development. In all six measures decided earlier in the year, majorities favored more limits.

• Early returns show all 33 limiting measures on track to pass, and 11 of 13 pro-development measures headed for defeat. The only reported pro-data center win was in North Dakota. 
• Ohio (not Virginia, surprisingly) is the epicenter: 21 measures in 18 municipalities, on top of 125 existing local moratoriums. 
• Pataskala, Sunbury, and Granville amended their charters to ban data centers that draw 25 megawatts or more of power; Grove City now requires a referendum. Ashville, OH, voted to block a data campus already under construction, and about 80% of Wilmington voters rejected four rezonings. We know that consumers are using AI tools en masse, but don’t like the infrastructure required to provide it. 
• In an NBC exit poll, 56% of voters said AI and data centers were a crucial or major factor in their vote; a UMass Amherst poll found only 11% would support a data center in their community. 

What Congressional Democrats might try

1. Mandatory “pay your own way.” The House passed a GOP bill 417-3, requiring states to consider only making large users pay incremental grid costs. Senate Democrats blocked it as too soft because it was optional, and Schumer called it toothless. Its sponsor, Rep. Jon Husted, just lost his opportunity to be a Senator. A mandatory version is close to a given, and Trump could sign it to build on his Ratepayer Protection Pledge. 
2. Water reporting and renewable goals. House Democrats’ bills could force data centers to generate power on-site, impose aggressive renewable targets, and require reporting on water use. It remains true that data centers are not the aggressive draw on water that voters think, but political reality may necessitate compromise to make taxpayers feel more comfortable. This might all speed up Elon Musk’s stated goal of shifting data centers to satellite stations in orbit or to facilities built on the moon. 
3. A national moratorium. The Sanders/Ocasio-Cortez bill would pause the construction of new data centers until national safeguards are in place. The Center for American Progress’ own polling put support for the moratorium near 58%, and Tuesday’s results give these Democrats a mandate to cite. Such an effort should be opposed and kept in mind as the worst possible outcome when compromises are offered. 
4. Killing federal AI preemption. The White House had a plan to trade preemption for the Kids Online Safety Act—which includes age-verification and anti-deepfake measures—but has now lost leverage. Democrats have talked up the GUARDRAILS Act to repeal Trump’s preemption order and could defund the DOJ AI Litigation Task Force through appropriations. The state patchwork fight is likely to intensify. The Consumer Choice Center maintains that a federal policy best serves consumers and the national interest by providing predictability and rules that reckon with interstate commerce in the digital age.  
5. Kids and chatbots. The SAFE BOTs Act in the KIDS Act package would require AI chatbot disclosures and guardrails for minors. There were 78+ chatbot bills in the states this past year, so a national push wouldn’t be a surprise. 
6. Scrutiny of algorithmic or “surveillance” pricing. Trump’s Federal Trade Commission is somewhat aligned with populist Democrats on dynamic pricing in retail and housing. There are no bills with traction at present, but to tackle “affordability,” it’s likely Congress would look here and hold hearings.

CCC’s take: No subsidies, no socialized costs, no bans. End any and all tax abatements voters resent, and ensure whoever drives grid costs pays that bill. Let data centers build their own power sources (nuclear?), and oppose blanket moratoriums that push jobs and tax dollars overseas without lowering anyone’s utility bill. In “Data Centers Aren’t the Villain,” our team goes into more detail.

2. Prediction markets

1. Bans on officials trading. While legal markets such as Kalshi already police and restrict lawmakers’ participation, Rep. Ritchie Torres’s bill has 30 Democratic cosponsors—the Merkley-Klobuchar version would ban the president, VP, and members outright. Free markets are not free-for-alls, and if Congress wants to set these rules in stone, that is reasonable. Consumers are concerned about corruption and insider dealing, and Congress should respond proportionately. 
2. Category bans will escalate. The Schiff-Curtis Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act (sports- and casino-style contracts) and the Murphy-Casar BETS OFF Act—the Banning Games on Deaths and Elections Act (election, war, and death contracts) — are areas of overlap with the GOP. Consumer welfare advocates should be wary of efforts to carve off sports from prediction markets, structured as peer-to-peer event contracts. While it may resemble gambling, the legal framework is distinct and allows sports fans and analysts to trade with one another free of sportsbooks setting the odds and pushing sometimes predatory promotions to problem bettors. 
3. Clarifying “Is it gambling?” Merkley frames his bill as returning gambling oversight to the states, but that only holds if prediction markets are in fact “gambling.”  Congress may seek to codify the 6th and 9th Circuits’ views before the Supreme Court steps in, or members could file an amicus brief alongside the 39 state AGs.
4. Oversight questions. Donald Trump Jr. sits on both Kalshi’s and Polymarket’s advisory boards. Expect hearings on the CFTC’s view of this, insider trading involving Maduro and Iran contracts, and youth participation, plus scrutiny of any CFTC nominee who backs federal authority over this emerging industry. Rahm Emanuel has suggested that Democrats focus on broad government ethics and federal workforce rules rather than bills aimed at specific individuals or platforms. This would mirror how sports leagues already bar their own employees from betting or trading on their games. 

CCC’s take: Regulate misconduct, not the market. Support official-trading bans and integrity enforcement; oppose category bans that flatten the legal distinctions between sportsbooks and event contracts. 

3. Tariffs & North American trade war

Where things stand today

• The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Feb. 20 in Learning Resources v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. Section 301 and 232 tariffs were untouched. A Section 122 “global surcharge” expired on July 24 after the trade court found it unlawful in May. 
• Trump shifted to Section 301 tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on 60 economies tied to forced-labor enforcement, and to Section 338, a 1930 authority never before used to impose tariffs, for an extra 50% on Canadian goods. 

What Democrats might do 

1. Pass the repeal bills already written. Schumer’s End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act targets the 12.5% global tariff and the 50% Canada tariffs, repeals the underlying authorities, and requires refunds. A separate Senate Democratic bill would repeal all Section 338 tariffs. President Trump would surely veto, and a Congressional override needs 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate. A tall order—but not impossible if Republicans are tired of defending this policy after a punishing midterm—especially as it concerns Canada. 
2. Refunds. Senate Democrats introduced a bill mandating IEEPA refunds right after the ruling; expect more oversight of slow Customs payouts.

Congress could again vote to end the supposed tariff emergency and give Republicans hurt by cost-of-living increases a reason to join—but any such effort would be symbolic, similar to the first in February 2026. 

Remember! Democrats aren’t free trade absolutists—expect Democrats to keep China and steel tariffs, push labor and environmental terms in the USMCA review, and remain split on restoring the de minimis exemption.

4. Healthcare and drug price controls 

Democrats could undo the expanded orphan-drug exemption from the GOP’s 2025 budget law, and seek to increase the number of drugs Medicare can negotiate from 20 to 50 each year. Led by Senator Ron Wyden, Democrats are preparing to force drug companies to negotiate prices with the federal government for Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act. The Finance Committee is considering taking a page from Trump’s playbook and factoring international prices into Medicare drug price negotiation.  

The major risk: codifying most-favored-nation pricing locks in Trump’s executive orders, and he might sign whatever Democrats send him. One advocacy poll found 65% of Americans support this, so it could be a bipartisan effort that ultimately harms consumers. 

Potential Opportunity: basing Medicare out-of-pocket costs on the lower net price rather than list price, and Pharmacy Benefit Manager reform. 

CCC’s take: It’s important to reiterate that importing Europe’s price controls will not mean better health outcomes for patients. Slower launches and fewer new treatments are a huge setback. Push competition instead—faster generic and biosimilar approvals, mutual recognition of drugs approved abroad, and trade pressure on allies to pay their share of R&D. The discussion should be laser-focused on the principle of fairness. 

5. Housing after the ROAD Act

The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law July 11 without Trump’s signature and takes effect Jan. 7, 2027. 

• Investors controlling 350 or more homes can’t buy more single-family homes, with some exceptions.
• On the supply side, ROAD streamlines federal reviews and incentivizes local governments to address barriers to building. 

What Democrats will likely try next?

1. Lowering the investor threshold. Warren’s American Homeownership Act, with 17 Democratic cosponsors, would end tax breaks for firms owning more than 50 homes and bar them from accessing federally backed mortgages and from purchasing foreclosed federal homes. Trump has his own investor ban, so this could become law.
2. Ban algorithmic rent-setting. Senator Gallego’s plan includes a ban on algorithmic price-fixing by landlords. 
3. Federal rent gouging rules. H.R. 3214 would allow HUD to declare “affordable housing crisis periods” and ban rent and home price gouging during those periods. The closest thing to federal rent control on the table. Senator Schumer has also promised to expand rental relief and Section 8 vouchers.
4. Spending. More LIHTC and Housing Trust Fund money, and possibly grants tied to local zoning reform. There will be a clash between “Abundance Democrats” and progressives on this issue. 

CCC’s take: Build units and stop the blame game. Investors are a small share of purchases—restricting them chases capital out of new construction without lowering rents. Continue to back the ROAD Act’s zoning and permitting provision and fight a lower investor threshold, rent pricing rules, and landlord software bans.

6. DC’s foie gras vote vs consumer choice

DC voters approved Initiative 86 with about 73%, banning the sale and distribution of fattened-liver products and the force-feeding of birds, effective July 1, 2027. Violators face fines of $1,000 to $5,000 per violation and possible license suspension—personal consumption remains legal. Restaurants in DC wouldn’t be able to provide this dish.

• Hudson Valley Foie Gras (NY) is preparing to sue, and enforcement may go unfunded if the Council doesn’t appropriate about $314,000. Given that California’s ban (Prop 12) has survived a challenge, temper expectations for success in this consumer-choice fight. 
• With Democrats holding the Agriculture committees, GOP efforts to preempt state and local sales bans like this one are almost certainly dead. Expect more Prop 12-style bans.
• Critics warned that the text could extend to other bird-based products. DC also elected Democratic Socialist Janeese Lewis George as mayor, so expect DC fights over rent control, delivery app fees, and excise taxes.

CCC’s take: Diners can already choose not to order foie gras. A ban takes the choice away from everyone else, in a city that can’t fully staff its health inspections. It’s a simple prohibitionist issue, but focused on a high-end luxury good—unlikely to resonate with everyday people without a proper point of comparison. 

7. Other fronts to watch

• Crypto: the CLARITY Act is effectively reset. Democrats made ethics provisions on presidential profiting a condition of support, and now they would write and lead the legislative effort. Expect conflict-of-interest bans and tighter terms for DeFi and stablecoins, with Senator Warren taking the Banking Committee gavel. 
• Food and pesticides: Democrats might move to strip pesticide-labeling preemption or glyphosate liability shields from the farm bill or appropriations—MAHA Republicans have been courted by AOC and other Democrats, and pressure on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will intensify on this issue.